Google agrees $36 mln penalty over Australian competition charge

STORY: Google has agreed to pay a fine over what Australia says were anti-competitive deals on search.

The settlement Monday (August 18) focused on its agreements with telecoms operators Telstra and Optus, a unit of Singapore Telecommunications.

Australian competition watchdogs say the tech giant reached “understandings” with the pair that they would only install its search engine on phones they sold.

It says the telecom companies got a share of Google’s ad revenues in return.

Regulators say Google has cooperated with the probe, admitted liability, and agreed to pay a penalty of close to $36 million.

It has reportedly agreed to remove some search engine installations.

And will lift restrictions on the default search option set in contracts with Android phone makers and networks.

Australian officials said the deal would offer greater choice over search for consumers in the country.

Google said it was pleased to resolve the concerns, and was committed to offering phone makers more flexibility. Related Videos

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